Court of clergy in Iran might put opposition leader on trial

TEHRAN, Iran — Opposition leader Mahdi Karroubi may face legal action over his charge that several of the protesters who took to the streets after Iran's June election were raped, Tehran's prosecutor said yesterday.

The reformist Karroubi would be tried by a special court of the clergy, the ILNA news agency quoted prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi as saying.

A judiciary panel that was set up to look into Karroubi's allegation that several male and female protesters were raped in custody concluded last month that the charge was baseless.

“These allegations have been made without any proof, and all the documents given by Karroubi are baseless. These allegations were aimed at distracting public opinion,” it said.

The report recommended that action be taken against Karroubi and those airing rape allegations “which harm the regime.”

The probe signals that Iran's Islamic leadership could use the courts against the most senior dissenters.

Karroubi, a cleric, has demanded high-level investigations into the abuse claims. Karroubi's newspaper,
Etemad-e-Melli,
was banned by authorities in August.

The powerful Revolutionary Guard and other pro-regime groups have urged charges against the top opposition figures, including Karroubi, fellow reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi and former President Mohammad Khatami.

More than 100 activists and political figures already have been tried on charges that include seeking to overthrow the Islamic system.

Dolatabadi said “some individuals have already been summoned” as part of the inquest in Karroubi — a Shiite cleric and former parliament speaker — and added that 10 more people would go on trial on charges related to the post-election turmoil.